RAWALPINDI, Sept 3: Yaqub Eyyubov, deputy prime minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, informed the secretary defence, Lt-Gen Hamid Nawaz Khan that he was very much impressed by the progress made by Pakistan in the field of defence and wished to benefit from this experience.

Mr Eyyubov called on the secretary defence here on Tuesday. The Two sides discussed matters pertaining to bilateral affairs and cooperation in various fields with special reference to defence and aviation.

Both sides reiterated their strong support to each other on the issues of Kashmir and Nagorono Karabakh and called for an early and equitable settlement of these issues in accordance with the UN and OIC resolutions and the wishes of the people of these areas.

Mr Khan briefed the Mr Eyyubov in detail about the advancements made by Pakistan in the field of defence production and the training facilities available at the Pakistan‘s Armed Forces institutes.

He stated that these institutions were already earmarked vacancies for the Azeri Army and Air Force officers in various disciplines on gratis basis and would welcome officers of senior ranks to attend the Command and Staff Course at the Command and Staff College, Quetta, and National Defence College, Islamabad.

The question of resumption of flights between Pakistan and Azerbaijan also came under discussion and secretary defence offered the Azeri Airline AZAL to start its operations of examining the route Karachi-Baku-Istanbul, and hoped that decision would be arrived at in the near future.

Mr Eyyubov said that the friendship between Azerbaijan and Pakistan was marked by similarities of religion and culture.